A promising experimental drug to treat hepatitis C opens a trial for people coinfected with HIV.

In March, spring really sprung: Vertex Pharmaceuticals announced that people with HIV as well as hepatitis C virus (HCV) can now enroll in a trial of Telaprevir. The drug—the first protease inhibitor for treating HCV—has made it all the way to Phase III trials for people with HCV alone. Telaprevir holds hope of shortening the length of time people must take the standard HCV therapy, interferon plus ribavirin—a combo that often causes severe side effects and has a poor success rate in people with genotype 1 HCV.

If you have HIV and HCV genotype 1 and would like to join this study, call Vertex at 877-634-VRTX or e-mail medicalinfo@vrtx.com. You can also find details on enrollment criteria by searching “Telaprevir Study” on poz.com.

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